SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) eyes better governance and more services for the Kurdistan Region’s people, Co-leader Bafel Talabani said on Wednesday.
PUK’s Talabani met with head of UNAMI Regional Office in Erbil Ricardo Rodriguez in Erbil on Wednesday. They discussed the political and economic developments in the country, Talabani’s office said.
“The PUK is with a national, united policy and we eye a better governance and more services for the Kurdistan Region’s people,” Talabani said.
“We stress on the solution of issues with Baghdad, and the Region’s legal and constitutional rights should be preserved in the framework of a new agreement and the issue of employees’ salaries should be resolved … Our talks with Iraqi parties and friends with the central [government] continue,” he added.
The PUK co-leader further said two political and government’s delegation would visit Baghdad to resume talks to resolve the issues of public servants’ salaries and the Region’s share of the federal budget.
The UNAMI official said the United Nations would support agreements and partnership between Erbil and Baghdad, adding that the constitutional rights of both sides should be preserved, according to the statement.
Erbil and Baghdad have yet to reach a final agreement on their disputes regarding oil and revenue.
Earlier on Wednesday, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani headed to Baghdad in an effort to reach a deal with Baghdad over the federal budget for 2021.
On Tuesday, KRG Minister of Finance and Economy Awat Sheikh Janab said the Region had showed readiness to implement the loan law adopted by the Iraqi Council of Representatives last month, without Kurds’ consent.
The law commits the Kurdistan Region to hand over non-oil revenues and an amount of oil that SOMO indicates to the federal government in exchange for an amount of money as payment for the Region’s public servants.
KRG Minister of State for Federal Affairs Khalid Shwani said on Tuesday that Erbil had expressed readiness to implement the law.
A KRG delegation led by Janab visited Baghdad last week to discuss the Region’s share of the federal budget for 2021.
The KRG said in a statement on Saturday that Erbil and Baghdad had come to a “mutual understanding” on the draft budget law for 2021.
The Region’s share would be 12.6% per the initial deal, a source from the KRG Council of Ministers told Esta Media Network.
